The Perfect Gift
by Arianna B
Summary: What do you get a Hokage for her birthday? Naruto thinks he knows.... Oneshot, Tsunade and Naruto friendship.


"Naruto, you're a loser."

"Aw, Sakura-chan! I didn't mean to make her mad!"

"Telling her she was starting to show her age? Telling her that her wrinkles were starting to show through her henge-no-jutsu? That was just dumb."

"But it was the _truth_!"

"You know she hates it when you point out her age! It's stupid enough when you tell her stuff like this every time you see her, but in front of the _elders_? Didn't some part of you say that was a stupid idea?"

"_Well_..."

"The timing was just plain _stupid_. Just _idiotic_."

"It doesn't matter, Sakura-chan! She didn't have to knock me into the table!"

"What a waste of a table, if you ask me... it split right down the middle! She should've just nailed you to the wall, because seriously, repairing it would have cost a lot less."

"You don't mean that, Sakura-chan!"

"Yeah, I really do."

"_Sakura... _

"Why the hell did you barge into that meeting anyways? I mean, you know better to interrupt such an important thing like that!"

"I was _going_ to tell her happy birthday and give her this gift certificate to Ichiraku's I got for her birthday…."

"Couldn't it have waited?"

"No."

"You're... you're beyond stupid. What possessed you to run into the meeting, scream at the top of your lungs--"

"I was singing happy birthday!"

"--and _then _tell her she was looking old, and that you could see the wrinkles all over her face? _What possessed you?_"

"I didn't mean for it to come out that badly!"

"WELL, IT SURE CAME OUT THAT WAY!"

"Sakura-chan, don't yell... please..."

"I'M NOT YELLING!"

From his perch in the tree high above their heads, Kakashi chuckled. It was rather amusing to just sit and listen to his students bicker back and forth, especially on occasions such as this. He shook his head, grinning-- for as many years as he had known Naruto, he had to admit, what he did today had by far been the stupidest thing the kid had ever done. You didn't just interrupt a council meeting-- especially when most of the elders hated you already-- and insult the Hokage like that.

Still, Kakashi thought, it _had_ been rather funny.

"...FURTHERMORE, I AM ASHAMED TO HAVE TO GO IN FOR MY LESSONS WITH TSUNADE-SHISHOU LATER TODAY AND THEN APOLOGIZE FOR YOU!"

"I never said you'd have to apologize for me, Sakura-chan--"

"WELL, **YOU** SURE AS HELL WON'T, AND SOMEONE'S GOTTA DO IT!"

"Calm down, Sakura-chan, I'll go apologize right now! Seriously!"

"...What?"

"I said I'll go apologize right now, so you won't be embarrassed."

"Naruto, I don't think that's really a wise thing to do..."

"I'll talk to you later, Sakura-chan! Bye!" Kakashi heard a small _pop_ as Naruto poofed away.

"NARUTO! THEY'RE STILL IN THE COUNCIL MEETING!"

Kakashi stifled another giggle.

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"I don't care _what _you say, we can't trust them! Look how many times Suna has betrayed us!" The elder stood and thumped his feeble hand against the cracked table. "I say we refuse to go to their aid!"

Tsunade rubbed the bridge of her nose. "As far as I can remember, they've betrayed us _once_. Besides that one time, they've proven to be good allies... they've come to _our _aid. I propose we forget the problems of the past and concentrate on the problems of the present. Suna is being attacked, they need our help, and I plan to send as many men as I can spare. This act if goodwill will help bolster the good feelings between Suna and Konoha for generations to come."

The man thumped the table again. "I still say we leave those bastards to their demise!"

Angered voices filled the room as the elders argued back and forth. The Hokage-- the voice of reason, the voice of authority-- merely sat back and closed her eyes. She knew if she were to jump in now, there would be a few severely injured elders, and that wouldn't exactly help her reputation.

She cracked open her eyes and stared at the slip of crinkled paper before her, a slight smile creeping across her face. The kid-- that irrepressible Naruto-- had had the _nerve _to barge into the meeting, sing happy birthday to her in the loudest voice he could manage, and then tell her she looked _old. _She clenched her fist involuntarily-- there was no possible excuse for that rudeness.

But then again, he _had_ remembered it was her birthday. That made three people that had wished her a happy birthday: Shizune, Sakura, and Naruto. Not one other soul had remembered.

And the kid had left her a _gift_. She smiled once again at the slip of paper. _Congratulations,_ it read, _this certificate is good for two free bowls of ramen at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar, the best in Konoha!_

Had any other person given her a gift certificate to Ichiraku's, she probably would have asked them what the hell they were thinking. But Naruto was something else... in his book, Tsunade knew there was no better gift than ramen-- and he had gone all out! He hadn't given her a cup of the dehydrated stuff, oh no… he had actually gone and got her a certificate to _Ichiraku's_, the crème de la crème of all ramen stands.

She winced a little as she remembered how she had knocked him into the table in front of her, causing a large crack to run down the middle. _Naruto_, she had yelled angrily, _if you're not out of this room in ten seconds, I will be forced to commit cold-blooded murder in front of all the elders! Get the hell out!_

Tsunade reached out and grabbed the certificate, gazing down at it. _Maybe I was too harsh with the kid..._

"Hokage-sama? What would you say about this matter?"

"Huh?" She jerked her head upwards, staring into the eyes of the feeble elder. "What matter?"

He rolled his eyes. "What we were just discussing, Hokage-sama. Danzou brought up a good point about not helping Suna in this new war of theirs, and I believe we're all in agreement with him… except for you, that is."

Tsunade got the message loud and clear. _Screw what you think_, the man had really meant to say, _we've already agreed to ignore your opinions. _

She sighed. "Well, I suppose--"

"TSUNADE-BAA-CHAN!" The door to the council room was thrown open, and every head swiveled to stare at the boy standing proudly in the doorway.

The elder beside her scowled. "Don't you think you've already done enough, boy? I suggest you leave now," he snarled, "before we use our authority to--"

"Shut up," Tsunade said quietly, standing up. "_Be_ _quiet_ _and sit down_. I'll handle this."

Naruto winced at the tone of her voice-- he was in for it, he knew it. But he had promised Sakura he would apologize, and Uzumaki Naruto _always_ kept his promises.

"Tsunade-baa... I mean, Tsunade-sama." He bowed respectfully. "Forgive me for interrupting the... um... the meeting, whatever it's called, but I came to... well, you know..."

The Hokage clicked her nails against the table. "What?"

He swallowed. "I-came-to-apologize-for-being-rude-and-calling-you-old-and-saying-you-had-wrinkles-and-for-barging-in-here-but-all-I-was-trying-to-do-was-wish-you-a-happy-birthday-so-please-don't-yell-at-Sakura-because-I-was-rude." Gasping-- he had said all of it in one breath, at an extremely fast pace -- he bowed once again.

The elders turned to look at Tsunade. "Well," rasped a woman sitting in the corner, "what punishment is suitable for this boy? Interrupting a council meeting while it is in session is a major offense in itself, nut interrupting it _twice? _In one day? That is unexcusable, and it is your place to decide the punishment, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade edged around the table and walked towards Naruto, looking down at the back of his tousled blonde head. "It is my opinion--"

"I'll tell you what we should do!" The feeble old man stood up shakily, waving his frail fist into the air. "Public humiliation! Paddling in front of the whole village! It would--"

"_I'll_ tell you what _I'm_ going to do." Tsunade turned and glared at the elders, all of whom looked back expectantly. Naruto began to shake softly.

"First of all, I'm going to send every available man-- every single man I can spare-- to Suna. I don't care what you elders think. I am going to use my authority as Hokage to override every objection you have, and if you still persist, I will personally revoke _your_ authority."

Everyone gaped silently at Tsunade. "But... but..." spluttered the old woman, "you wouldn't _dare_."

"Wouldn't I? Then you must not know too much about me." Tsunade smiled pleasantly-- she had tried so hard to be civil to these bastards, but she had finally snapped. " The second thing I'm going to do is to warn you—if I catch _any _of you saying so much as one rude word to this boy here, I'll make sure you never sit in this room again." She turned back towards Naruto, who was still bowing as low as he could go. "I swear it."

Naruto felt a slim finger slide under his chin, lifting his head up. He blinked, staring down at the crinkled piece of paper she held in her other hand. "I think this gift certificate you gave me says _two_ free bowls of ramen. Think you could manage eating dinner with me?" Her eyes crinkled as she smiled at him.

The blonde boy began to grin-- slowly at first, but then the grin gradually grew and covered his whole face. "Yeah, I think I could... it wouldn't kill me to stare at your ugly face for that short of a time."

"Watch it, Naruto," she growled under her breath, her smile never wavering. She turned back to the elders. "This meeting is over. Good day to you all."

"But… but this is blackmail! This… this…."

Tsunade chuckled. "Who are you going to go to, the _Hokage_? Just do what I told you and I promise, you'll be sitting in that little warm chair for the rest of your days."

She strode out of the room, pulling Naruto behind her.

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The cook shook his head, still not believing what he was seeing-- the Hokage was sitting at the counter, as if she sat there every day, happily slurping up a bowl of ramen while talking to some kid. _Not just some kid_, he thought, _our best customer…Uzumaki something or other._

Uzumaki something-or-other finished his bowl of ramen, letting out a contented sigh. "Thanks, Tsunade-baa-chan. That was the best dinner I've had since... since I ate here last night." He grinned up at her, and she smiled back-- that grin was infectious.

"It was good, wasn't it? I guess when you're a Hokage, you forget about the simple things in life..."

Naruto sat up straight. "When I'm Hokage, you can bet _I'll _never forget this place. I'll eat here every day!"

Tsunade chuckled, looking at him in a motherly way. "I'm sure you will."

She handed her gift certificate to the bewildered cook. "It was great," she said. "The best ramen I've had in a long time."

He stammered a thanks, watching as she and the kid walked away.

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Naruto put his hands behind his head, staring up at the night sky. "Look, Tsunade-baa-chan!" He pointed up at star falling across the sky. "A falling star! Man, are we lucky!"

Tsunade watched the etheral ball of light streak across the sky. _Please, _she thought, _if wishing on a shooting star really makes dreams come true, if there's any way this can work...then please, make this kid Hokage some day._

She looked at Naruto, who was currently squeezing his eyes shut. Suddenly his eyes popped open. "There! I made a wish!"

"What'd you wish for?"

"I can't tell you! If I did, it wouldn't come true!"

Tsunade laughed. "Just tell me."

"Aw, fine... I wished for a lifetime supply of ramen."

"You didn't wish to become Hokage?"

He looked at her like she was stupid. "Why wish for something I already know is going to come true? I mean, I _will_ be Hokage, but as for a lifetime supply of ramen..." He sighed. "That's an impossible wish."

Tsunade had a sudden impulse to hug the kid, but she knew he was at the age where hugs were taboo. She settled for the next best thing. "You're an okay kid, Naruto. Not half bad."

He smiled up at her. "You're not too bad yourself. Happy birthday, Tsunade."

Not Tsunade-baa-chan, just Tsunade. She could live with that.

"Thanks, Naruto." She smiled up at the moon. _Thanks_ _for everything._

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**A/N: **_I've always thought that the friendship between Tsunade and Naruto was sweet, just plain adorable. They both are the most awesome characters ever, and I'm a sucker for cute little friendships... and thus, this thing was born. _

_There is one thing I find creepy, though... have any of ya'll ran across those Tsunade/Naruto stories? I mean, I can see them as friends, but as a _couple? _No._

_Anyways, you know the drill. REVIEW. I need some feedback..._

_And that is all. _


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